Quarry Street

7 Quarry Street, in Fremantle, is to be the poster child for cooperative housing in Western Australia.

The City of Fremantle has invited expressions of interest from groups willing to develop the 1,500 square-metre site into a collaborative, affordable and sustainable housing project.

Green Fabric, in partnership with NGO Cooperation Housing, myself, researcher Elizabeth Cheong and development manager Anthony Rizzacasa, is facilitating a group of people interested in being part of this exciting opportunity.

The City of Fremantle would like to see a project that follows the Baugruppen (literally building group) model. The concept originates from Germany, where it is increasingly common for self-organised groups to coordinate the design and construction of their own homes together.

Financially, cooperatively designing and building can cut around 20% of costs. Socially, these projects result in tighter-knit communities and lots of shared skills and resources.

7 Quarry Street is located on the eastern side of Fremantle, in walking distance from the train station and centre of town. It’s the perfect location for a pioneer cooperative project.